Barber pole



' J 1937- I J. w. BESTLER 2,069,103

- BARBER POLE Filed Jan. 10, 1955 2 Sheets-Shet 1 6/ .55 I l I .56 I

a I I ll r v 52 J0 1, J 24 I I 7.25 l

I :f I [-49 J7 34 If;

2/ I I; 60 j; ,j, ,6 37 @622 zf) I i m flZ72%J/kf, 6 WW 4 I 17 Patented Jan. 26, 1937 PATENT QFFIQE BARBER POLE John W. Bestler, Chicago, 111., assignor to Theo. A. Kochs Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application January 10, 1935, Serial No. 1,208

23 Claims.

The present invention is directed to a rotatable cylinder for use as a barber pole sign, and the invention in particular is directed to the construction and mounting from time to time of the sheet or covering of the wall of the cylinder which displays the striped decoration emblematic of a barber shop.

Since signs of this character are exposed to the weather it is necessary from time to time to make provision for the refinishing or renewal of the striped display in order to maintain the sign in a clean and attractive condition, and the present invention makes provision for such renewal or refinishing by providing a removable strip or covering of translucent paper,

fabric, or the like, which may be renewed from time to time in order to maintain the sign in a presentable condition.

The invention also relates to the means provided for illuminating the pole from within in order to secure an attractive night display, and to the means provided for varying or modifying the character of the display by the provision of one or more rotating cylinder shells suitably slotted to aiford illuminated apertures or stripes, upon which shell (or the outermost where two are employed) the removable covering may be mounted to afford the desired color and pattern effect for the sign.

The invention further relates to the means provided for rotating one or both of the cylinders and to the general construction and arrangement of the device as a whole.

Further objects and details will appear from the description of the device in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the device showing the employment of two concentric rotating cylinders;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view showing the method of wrapping the covering sheet or sheets around the walls of the respective cylinders; and

Fig. 4 is a section of one of the covering sheets.

The device as a whole is of cylindrical configuration, and is carried by lower and upper bracket arms II! and II respectively, which are suitably secured in properly spaced relation to the walls of the building, preferably near or upon the doorway to the barber shop, in accordance with the customary practice.

The lower bracket arm l6 terminates in a base plate 42 provided with a marginal flange l3 and serving to support a motor casing it, which it is not necessary to illustrate in detail.

The base plate [2 is provided with a boss which aifords a journal mounting for a motor shaft Hi, the upper end of which is notched to afford a chuck bearing ll which receives the lower end of a stub shaft [3 having a laterally extending pin I9 lying within the chuck recess to afford a coupling between the motor shaft and the stub shaft.

The stub shaft is mounted within the hub 26 of an inner cylinder head 21 provided with a rim 22 which carries an inner cylinder shell 23. The upper end of the inner cylinder is closed by a cylinder head 24 in the form of a ring provided with an outer flange 25 to which the cylinder wall is secured, and with the inner flange 26 which encircles a fixed bearing tube 21, the upper end of which is threaded into a A ring 28 medially supported by the annular wall 29 of a ring shaped upper frame 30.

Where it is desired to employ two concentric cylinders in order to afford a more involved illuminating effect, the outer cylinder is provided, which comprises a lower cylinder head 3i having an inner hub 32 freely journalled upon the chuck head of the motor shaft l6 and a rim 33 to which the cylinder wall 34 is secured at its lower end.

The upper end of the outer cylinder is closed by a head plate 35 having a head flange 36 and a marginal flange 31 to which the upper margin of the outer cylinder wall is secured. This arrangement provides for the concentric rotatable mounting of the two cylinders one within the other.

Where it is desired to impart opposite rotation to the inner and outer cylinders, the fixed hearing tube 2'! is provided with a ring 38 held in place by one or more set screws 39, which ring mounts a plurality of pintles 45, each carrying a pinion 4| which is in mesh with racks 42 and 33 respectively, so that, as rotation is imparted to the inner cylinder through the chuck connections described, the pinions 4! will be rotated, thereby imparting opposite rotation to the cylinders. If desired, however, the inner cylinder may be held stationary, or other means provided for securing relative rotation.

Each of the cylinder walls, as shown, is provided with lines of specially arranged apertures 44, which apertures in the same special line are preferably separated by unbroken sections 45 so as to not unduly weaken the structure of the cylinder wall. The apertures in the outer cylinder preferably extend in opposite spirality to the apertures of the inner cylinder wall.

In order to give the proper color effect characteristic of a barber pole, each of the cylinders (where two are employed) is covered by a strip ll of translucent or semitransparent paper or fabric provided with the customary red, white and blue stripes, or other desired coloration, which strip is preferably provided along one of its margins with means such as a glue stripe 43 to permit the overlapping edges of the strip to be adhered or otherwise fastened together when the strip is spirally wound around the cylinder in the manner shown in Fig; 3. This spiral winding serves to bring the colored stripes on the strip into proper registry with the underlying lines of apertures in the cylinder wall, so that, when illuminated from within,thelight will shine through the apertures and through the colored stripes to' give the desired color effect. As indicated in Fig. 3, the inner and outer cylinders will be spirally wound in reverse direction in correspondence with the alignment of the respective lines of apertures.

Surrounding the rotating cylinder, or cylinders as the case may be, is a cylindrical shell 49 of glass, the lower end of which is held in place within the marginal flange 13 of the lower base frame, a sealing strip 50 being provided to prevent ingress of moisture. In like manner the upper end of the glass shell is positioned within the ring shaped upper frame 30 and sealed with a strip The upper frame 30 is housed over by a dome shaped cap 52, the rim of which overlaps the wall of the upper frame and is held in place by set screws 53 or the like. The dome shaped cap is provided with clips 54 which hook over the rim of a glass globe 55 which is held in place by thumb screws 56.

The rotating cylinder is illuminated by an electric bulb 51 which is suspended by a conduit 58 carrying conductor wires 59 leading to a socket plug 555, and in like manner the globe 55 is illuminated by an electric bulb 6|.

In use, where a single cylinder is employed, the cylinder will be illuminated and rotated to give a spiral traveling effect to the illuminated colored lines. In case the covering sheet of paper, fabric or the like, becomes soiled, faded or otherwise unsightly, the cylinder can be removed from the interior by lifting off the dome shaped cap, lifting out the bulb and its connections, and removing the ring 28 and associated parts, which permits the inner cylinder to be lifted freely from the chuck connection, after which the soiled or impaired covering sheet can be removed and a new one wound around the cylinder and glued in an obvious manner. Where two cylinders are employed, a like series of operations will permit of each of the cylinders being removed and recovered.

Where duplicate cylinders are employed, a

striking and diversified lighting effect would be obtained by reason of the opposite rotation of the illuminated stripes, which will give the effect of momentary flashes or traveling light balls occasioned by the traversing of the oppositely extending spiral apertures on the inner and outer cylinders, which are so arranged that the areas of illumination will be restricted to the intersecting regions, which by reason of the opposite rotation will shift in a vertical direction, thereby giving the effect of traveling balls of fire, which thus produce a striking and arresting display.

The cylinders themselves may be made of thin sheet metal, although it is preferred to employ stiff fiber-board or the like, which affords a cheap and satisfactory material which is light and at the same time not. subject to rust or corrosion.

While I have shown and described inner and outer cylinders rotatable in reverse directions and each covered with a colored strip, it will be understood that the inner cylinder may if desired be wholly omitted, or the covering strip may be omitted and the light allowed to shine directly through the apertures in the inner cylinder wall, and that it is not the intention to limit the light transmitting apertures to the particular spiral arrangement shown. Furthermore, it is possible to employ a cylinder or cylinders having transparent, imperforate walls, and to secure the desired lighting effect by properly printing or coloring the covering strip to transmit the light in the intended manner.

The covering strips, as shown, are of rhomboid formation with the stripes running parallel with the long edges, which enables the individual strips to be imprinted on a continuous band and afterwards cut into individual sections by oblique cross cuts and with the glue stripe along one of the edges, so that, in pasting, the seam will follow the spiral direction of the stripes themselves and will thus be practically invisible. A1-

- though such strips so formed are well adapted to the peculiarities of an illuminated sign of the character described in detail above, nevertheless, such a strip may be used with a fixed, nonrotating sign, or with one which is not provided with means for interior illumination.

I claim: 7

1. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of a cylinder provided with a relatively opaque wall having light transmitting areas, a removable covering sheet of relatively transparent material and of a size to fit around and enclose the cylinder, a mounting for the cylinder, means for rotating the cylinder, and means within the cylinder for illuminating the same.

2. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of a cylinder provided with a relatively opaque wall having spirally arranged rows of light transmitting areas, a removable covering sheet of relatively transparent material provided with colored stripes registering with the light transmitting areas and surrounding and enclosing the cylinder wall, a quickly detachable mounting for the cylinder, means for rotating the cylinder, and means within the cylinder for illuminating the same.

3. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of a cylinder having a'relatively opaque wall provided with light transmitting areas arranged in the'form of spiral lines surrounding the cylinder wall, a removable sheet of flexible material of a size to fit around and enclose the cylinder and hav ing light transmitting colored stripes in register with the light transmitting areas in the cylinder wall, a quickly detachable mounting for the cyl inder, means for rotating the cylinder, and means for illuminating the cylinder from within.

4. Inan illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of a cylinder having a relatively opaque wall provided with light transmitting areas arranged in the form of spiral lines surrounding the cylinder wall, a removable sheet of flexible material of ajsize to fit around and enclose the cylinder and having light transmitting colored stripes in register with the light transmitting areas in the cylinder wall, a quickly detachable mounting for the cylinder, means for rotating the cylinder, means for illuminating the cylinder from within, an outer cylindrical glass sheath surrounding the cylinder, and a cap overlying and protecting the sheath and the cylinder enclosed therein.

5. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of a cylinder having upper and lower cylinder heads, and a surrounding cylinder wall of relatively stifi and opaque material provided with apertures aligned to afford spiral rows interrupted at intervals by the unbroken cylinder wall, a removable covering sheet of flexible material of a size to fit around and enclose the cylinder and having relatively transparent colored stripes registering with the aperture in the cylinder wall, chuck connections for the lower head of the cylinder adapted to permit lifting and removal of the cylinder, a journal mounting for the upper end of the cylinder, and an electric bulb within the cylinder for illuminating the same.

6. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of a cylinder having upper and lower cylinder heads, and a surrounding cylinder wall of relatively stifi and opaque material provided with apertures aligned to afford spiral rows interrupted at intervals by the unbroken cylinder wall, a removable covering sheet of flexible material of a size to fit around and enclose the cylinder and having relatively transparent colored stripes registering with the apertures in the cylinder wall, chuck connections for the lower head of the cylinder adapted to permit lifting and removal of the cylinder, a journal mounting for the upper end of the cylinder, an electric bulb within the cylinder for illuminating the same, a cylindrical glass sheath surrounding the cylinder, and a cap overlying the glass sheath.

'7. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of inner and outer concentric cylinders, each cylinder being provided with a wall having light transmitting areas therein and one of the cylinders being surrounded by a removable sheet of flexible material having relatively transparent colored areas registering with the light transmitting areas of the associated cylinder wall, means for relatively rotating the inner and outer cylinders, means for mounting the cylinders, and means for illuminating the cylinders from within.

8. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of inner and outer rotatably mounted concentric cylinders, each cylinder being provided with a Wall having light transmitting areas therein, said areas being arranged in the form of oppositely extending stripes in the respective cylinder walls and each cylinder being surrounded by a removable sheet of flexible material having relatively transparent colored areas registering with the light transmit ting areas of the associated cylinder wall, means for concurrently rotating the inner and outer cylinders, means for mounting the cylinders, and means for illuminating the cylinders from within.

9. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of inner and outer rotatably mounted concentric cylinders,

each cylinder being provided with a wall having light transmitting areas therein, said areas being arranged in the form of oppositely extending stripes in the respective cylinder walls and each cylinder being surrounded by a removable sheet of flexible material having relatively transparent colored areas registering with the light transmit ting areas of the associated cylinder wall, means for concurrently rotating the inner and outer cylinders in opposite directions, means for mounting the cylinders, and means for illumimating the cylinders from within.

10. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of inner and outer rotatably mounted concentric cylinders, each cylinder being provided with a wall having light transmitting areas therein and each cylinder being surrounded by a removable sheet of flexible material having relatively transparent colored areas registering with the light transmitting areas of the associated cylinder wall, means for concurrently rotating the inner and outer cylinders, means for mounting the cylinders, and means for illuminating the cylinders from within.

11. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of inner and outer rotatably mounted concentric cylinders, each cylinder being provided with a wall having light transmitting areas therein and each cylinder being surrounded by a removable sheet of flexible material having relatively transparent colored areas registering with the light transmitting areas of the associated cylinder Wall, means for imparting relative rotation to the inner and outer cylinders, means for mounting the cylinders, and means for illuminating the cylinders from within.

12. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of inner and outer rotatably mounted concentric cylinders, each cylinder being provided with a Wall having light transmitting areas therein, said areas being arranged in the form of oppositely extending stripes in the respective cylinder Walls and each cylinder being surrounded by a removable sheet of flexible material having relatively transparent colored areas registering with the light transmitting areas or" the associated cylinder wall, means for imparting relative rotation to the inner and outer cylinders, means for mounting the cylinders, and means for illuminating the cylinders from within.

13. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of inner and outer rotatably mounted concentric cylinders, each cylinder being provided with a Wall having light transmitting areas therein, said areas being arranged in the form of oppositely extending stripes in the respective cylinder walls and each cylinder being surrounded by a removable sheet of flexible material having relatively transparent colored areas registering with the light transmitting areas of the associated cylinder wall, means for imparting relative rotation to the inner and outer cylinders in opposite directions, means for mounting the cylinders, and means for illuminating the cylinders from within.

14. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of inner and outer rotatably mounted concentric cylinders, each cylinder being provided with a wall having light transmitting areas therein and each cylinder being surrounded by a removable sheet of flexible material having relatively transparent colored areas registering with the light transmitting areas of the associated cylinder wall, for imparting relative rotation to the inner and outer cylinders, means for mounting the cylinders, and means for illuminating the cylinders from within.

15. For use in a barber pole, a cylinder mounted to revolve about a vertical axis comprising upper and lower heads connected by a cylindrical wall having perforations arranged in definite formation, a translucent sleeve fitted closely around the cylinder to rotate therewith and held thereon in a manner permitting quick removal and replacement and provided with colored portions in register with the perforated formations in the cylinder, and means for illuminating the interior of the cylinder whereby the light emanating through the perforations is colcred according to the coloring upon the sleeve.

16. For use in a barber pole, duplex cylinders mounted to revolve about a vertical axis each comprising upper and lower heads connected by a cylinder wall one of which lies to the outside of the other, there being perforations in each cylinder, a translucent sleeve fitted closely around each cylinder to rotate therewith, means for illuminating the interior of the inner cylinder whereby the light emanating therefrom is required to pass through registering perforations in both cylinders for exhibition exteriorly thereof, and means for rotating one cylinder relative to the other.

17. In an illuminated display sign of the character indicated, the combination of a cylinder having a wall adapted to transmit light, a removable covering sheet held thereon in a manner permitting quick removal and replacement and having light transmitting areas imprinted thereon to afiord the desired display, means for rotating the cylinder, and means within the cylinder for illuminating the same.

18. In a display sign of the character indicated, the combination of a cylinder, and a removable covering sheet of rhomboid shape having stripes running parallel with its two opposite sides and spirally wound around the cylinder with its end edges parallel with the base and top of the cylinder and its side edges overlapped and glued to form a spirally extending seam.

19. In a display sign of the character indicated, the combination of a cylinder, means for rotating the cylinder, and a removable covering sheet of rhomboid shape having stripes running parallel with its two opposite sides and spirally wound around the cylinder with its end edges parallel with the base and top of the cylinder and its side edges overlapped and glued to form a spirally extending seam.

20. In a display sign in winch a cylindrical sign supporting member is mounted for rotation about an illumina ing means, the improvement comprising a sign in the form of a light transmitting flexible sheet or" rhomboid shape when flat, and means for connecting the side edges of said sheet to form a seam extending helically between the ends of said sign.

21. In a display sign in which a cylindrical sign supporting member is mounted for rotation about an illuminating means, the improvement comprising a sign in the form of a light transmitting flexible sheet of rhomboid shape when flat, said sheet having contrasting light trans mitting areas in the form of stripes extending parallel with the side edges thereof, and means at one side edge of the sheet for connecting said edge to the opposite side edge when the sheet is flexed to cylindrical formation, whereby the stripes and connecting means extend helic'ally between the ends of the sign when its side edges are secured together.

22. In a display sign in which a cylindrical sign supporting member is mounted for rotation about an illuminating means, comprising a sheet of flexible material of rhomboid shape having light transmitting areas in the form of stripes running parallel with its side edges, said sheet being adapted to be flexed into cylindrical formation, and means for securing the side edges of the sheet together with said edges and stripes running spirally between the ends thereof. I

23. In a display sign in which a cylindrical sign supporting member is mounted for rotation about an illuminating means, the improvement comprising a sheet of light transmitting material of rhomboid shape when fiat, the opopsite side edge portions of which are adapted to be united to form a light transmitting cylinder with said side edge portions extending helically of the cylinder, and means extending parallel to said side edge portions of the sheet adapted to form helical stripes having contrasting light transmitting areas when said edge portions are united.

JOHN W. BES'I'LER. 

